이집트경찰노조 설립 추진 중!! 한국경찰은 경찰노조대신 직협만이라도 허용해달라?!

[경찰개혁연대]

2013년 1월 11일 이집트경찰연합 측은 경찰노동기본권을 지키기 위해 노조설립토론회를 개최하였다.

카이로 나세르 시티지역에 위치한 경찰회관에서 개최된 이번 토론회는 카이로 알렉산드리아 기자 칼루비아 아시웃트 북부시나이 케나 등의 지역별 대의원 5명을 선출할 예정이다.

추후 연합회 측은 다른 지역들도 위원들을 선출할 예정이다.

알아람 아랍뉴스 웹사이트에 따르면, 경찰노조 준비모임 측은 경찰관 측과 내무부 측의 커뮤니케이션 통로를 만들도록 할 예정이다.

이날 토론회 모임은 아흐메드 가말 엘딘 내무장관 해임을 결정한 내각교체에 대해 비판 입장을 나타냈다.

연합회 대변인 헤샴 살레는 알나하르 TV 앵커인 마흐뭇 사드에게 모하메드 이브라힘 신임내무장관에 대해서는 낙관적인 평가를 한다고 밝혔다.

살레 대변인은 경찰노조 설립의 목적은 내무부에서 법적 인정을 받아내 경찰의 단결과 발전을 도모하기 위한 것이라고 밝혔다.

“경찰은 어떻게 자체 정화를 하며 공고히 할 것인지 잘 알고 있으며, 그러나 경찰관 측에게 경찰 입장을 말할 공간과 무대를 제공하지 않는 언론 측을 비판해 마지않는다”

이집트경찰의 야만적 폭력행위야말로 1월25일 봉기의 가장 큰 요인 중 하나였던 것으로 알려져 있다.

무바라크 정권에 맞서 18일 동안 봉기할 당시 시위대와 경찰간 충동사태로 인해 840명의 시위대가 사망하고 6천명 이상 부상당하였다.

살레 대변인은 “당시의 혁명 이후 경찰은 개혁을 이룩하였으며, 경찰도 2011년 1월 이래로 1695명이 실종되었다”고 밝혔다.

하지만 카이로에 본부를 둔 ‘나딤 피해자와 고문피해자 재활센터’ 측의 최근 보고서에 따르면 모하메드 모르시 대통령이 취임한 이후 100일 동안 이집트경찰에 의해 34명이 사망하고 88건의 고문이 자행되었으며 7건의 성폭행 사건이 저질러진 것으로 발표한 바 있다.

 

참세상

 

이집트 경찰노조, “우리는 정치탄압의 도구가 아니다”

일선 경찰들, 10개 지역에서 시위...집회규제법안도 반대

정은희 기자

2013.02.13 23:49

이집트 일선 경찰 수백명이 자신들을 정치적 탄압의 도구로 이용하지 말라며 시위에 나섰다.

12일 <알아라비아> 등에 따르면 이집트 경찰노동조합은 최소 10개 지역 경찰관청 밖에서 집회를 갖고 경찰을 정치탄압의 도구로 이용하는 데 대한 반대를 표명했다. 이들은 시위에서 “우리는 순교자들의 죽음에 무고하다”는 현수막을 들고 정부가 경찰을 속죄물로 만들고 있다고 비판했다.

[출처: http://english.alarabiya.net/ 화면 캡처]

이집트 경찰은 대중적인 반정부 시위대에 대한 직접적 구타와 총기, 물포, 최루탄 투입을 비롯해 납치, 구금자에 대한 고문 등을 문제로 비난받아 왔다.

경찰노동조합의 한 대표자는 “우리는 정치적 실패에 대한 책임을 지지 않을 것이다”라고 말했다. 그는 또한 “경찰과 시민은 매일 쓰러지고 있다. 이는 중단돼야 한다”고 호소했다. 그는 또 “우리는 무장한 범법자가 아닌 시위대 또는 혁명가들에 대해 무기를 사용하고 싶지 않다”고 덧붙였다.

시위에 나선 경찰들은 또한 현재 슈라위원회(이집트 상원)가 논의 중인 집회 규제법안에 대해서도 시위를 허가제로 규정하거나 방해할 수 있다는 이유로 반대했다.

경찰들은 정부에 반대하는 구호를 외치기도 했다.

알렉산드리아에서 5백여 명의 경찰들은 “내무장관 퇴진”, “무슬림형제단의 내무부 장관 임명 반대”라는 구호와 함께 “정부는 폭력배이자 도둑”이라고 외쳤다. 아시우트 주에서 경찰 시위대는 내무장관 사퇴를 요구했고 무누피아 주에서는 경찰 관청 입구를 봉쇄하기도 했다.

한편 이집트 내무부는 13일 2011년 혁명 후 모두 174명의 경찰이 사망했다고 밝혔다.

이집트에서는 혁명 2주년이었던 지난 달 25일부터 지난 3주간 50명 이상이 거리 시위 중 사망했다. 2년전 혁명 기간에는 최소 846명이 사망했고 6,000명이 부상당했다.

무바라크가 물러난 2주년인 지난 11일에도 전국에서 대규모 시위가 일어나 경찰과 격렬하게 대치했다. 시위대는 무르시 대통령과 무슬림형제단 퇴진을 촉구했다.

Egypt's police forms union; aims to develop MOI

Egypt's police move to form union to protect working rights and to help develop the Ministry of Interior

Ahram Online, Saturday 12 Jan 2013

Egyptian Police (Photo: Reuters)

 Egypt's Police Coalition held a forum Friday to discuss means of establishing a police union to defend police working rights.

The meeting, held at the Police Club in Cairo's Nasr City, announced a plan to elect five officers to represent the coalition for each of the governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Qalyoubia, Assiut, North Sinai and Qena.

The coalition will further elect sub-committees in other governorates.

The union plans to establish a link of communication between police officers and officials at the Ministry of Interior, reported Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

The meeting also criticised the recent cabinet reshuffle that saw the sacking of Minister of Interior Ahmed Gamal El-Din.

Meanwhile, coalition media coordinator Hesham Saleh told Al-Nahar TV anchor Mahmoud Saad Friday that they were optimistic about the new minister of interior, Mohamed Ibrahim.

Saleh added that the aim behind the creation of a union is to establish a legal entity within the interior ministry that unites the police apparatus and work on developing the ministry.

"They [police officers] know better than others how to purge and reconstruct [the ministry]," added Saleh, who criticised the media for not offering police offciers a platform to speak.

Many observers believe that widespread police brutality in Egypt was one of the main causes behind the eruption of the January 25 Revolution.

Clashes between protesters and the police during the 18-day uprising against the Mubarak's regime left around 840 protesters dead and more than 6,000 injured.

Saleh promised that "the police has changed after the revolution," adding that the police has lost around 165 of its members since January 2011.

Nevertheless, a recent report published by the Cairo-based Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture recorded 34 cases of death, 88 cases of torture, and seven cases of sexual assault at the hands of the Egyptian police during President Mohamed Morsi's first 100 days in office.

abc뉴스

Egypt: Hundreds of Police Stage Rare Protests

CAIRO February 12, 2013 (AP)

Hundreds of Egypt's low-ranking policemen staged protests on Tuesday demanding they not be used as a tool for political oppression in the country's ongoing turmoil.

Dozens of policemen rallied outside local security administration headquarters in at least 10 provinces. Some of them carried signs reading, "we are innocent of the blood of the martyrs."

Although small, the protests marked a rare instance of dissent by Egypt's police force. The rallies reflect fears among many policemen of a public backlash after weeks of violent crackdowns on anti-government protests.

AP

Egyptian protesters throw stones while... View Full Caption

Egyptian protesters throw stones while security police open water cannons on them from inside the grounds of the presidential palace during a demonstration in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. Security forces sprayed protesters with water hoses and tear gas outside the presidential palace Monday as Egyptians marked the second anniversary of autocrat Hosni Mubarak’s ouster with angry demonstrations against his elected successor.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Close

Rights activists allege that police have used excessive force against the latest wave of protests that started on the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, policemen gathered outside security headquarters shouting: "Down with the interior minister." They also chanted: "No to the Brotherhood takeover of the interior ministry," alleging that the country's largest Islamic group, The Muslim Brotherhood, is packing state institutions with its members. Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was a longtime member of the group.

The protests come as the Shura Council, the country's Islamist-dominated interim parliament, is debating a new law to regulate demonstrations and require protesters to get permission from the ministry of interior to hold their protest.

The protesters said that they are against laws that would make them responsible for permitting or preventing protests and which would eventually put them in confrontation with protesters.

출처

http://she2i2.blogspot.kr/2012/03/egypt-police-seek-to-reform-through.html

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Egypt: Police seek reform through unionization

Egypt Independent

Policemen see security reform in unionization

Sun, 26/02/2012

Jano Charbel

Thousands of policemen and officers across Egypt are seeking to establish trade unions with which to protect their interests. Legal obstacles, however, stand in their way.

Egypt's trade union legislation — particularly Trade Union Law 35/1976 and its predecessors — specifically mentions that the police and armed forces are not allowed to join or form any sort of professional associations. In its current format, a new draft law on trade union liberties also stipulates similar provisions.

Moreover, Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labor Organization, which Egypt ratified in the 1950s, stipulate that it is up to each state’s discretion whether to allow for the establishment of unions among police or armed forces.

But policemen argue that their unionization would assist the country in efforts toward reforming the Interior Ministry, with police abuses being a notable cause behind the eruption of the Egyptian revolution: 25 January, the day when masses broke out against the police and the regime, was originally celebrated as Egyptian Police Day.

“Unions may also help us in cleansing, or at least monitoring, corrupt elements and abuses within the Interior Ministry,” said policeman Khaled Badran.

Hassan Shendy, another policeman, said unionizing Egypt's police forces would “help to identify those responsible for acts of corruption, bribery, torture or other abuses, and take action against them.”

Shendy added that unions would “help to improve our working conditions and raise our incomes, and in doing so would help to decrease the phenomena of corruption and bribery among the police.”

“Unions will help us settle our financial and professional problems,” he said. “When we settle our problems, then we will be better prepared to settle the streets’ problems. This will help the whole security balance of the country.”.

Badran said police do not want to protest for a union and the rest of their rights.

“We want a legitimate association through which we can put forth our demands and raise them to the officials as one cohesive group,” the policeman said.

Egyptian labor and law enforcement legislation bans police forces from engaging in protests and strikes, although a number of police protests have taken place since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster on 11 February 2011.

These protests began just two days after Mubarak’s abdication. Thousands of policemen protested outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo on 22 March for improved wages and working conditions, and a fire broke out in the ministry. A number of other police protests took place nationwide in October and November of last year.

Shendy concluded, “We don’t want unions for the sake of engaging in politics or unrest, we want an exclusively professional association. We want a union that prevents punitive measures against both policemen and civilians.”

However, the trajectory for establishing such unions appears hazy among union organizers, particularly as police employees are presenting a less-than-unified front.

Officers are attempting to establish unions for themselves, while lower-ranking policemen are going after separate unions. Some have sought to federate these unions under the affiliation of the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation, while others have sought to establish their unions under the umbrella of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions.

“Police forces should have the right to unionize because they are state employees who are responsible for law enforcement among the civilian population. Therefore they should have the same rights to organize as any other employees,” argued Emad al-Araby, the independent union federation’s deputy secretary general.

Araby went on to say “unionizing the police would help tend to their needs, and thus it would diminish the numbers of protests and strikes in which they are involved.”

Araby denied allegations that the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions is an opposition entity or a politicized federation.

“We are against the establishment of any unions on the basis of political or party affiliation,” Araby said. “We take off our political robes at the doors of our union offices. This is what we expect of all unions within this federation.”

“Claims that unionizing the police will lead to their politicization are baseless,” Araby said.

The union organizer pointed out that the Union of Civil Employees of the Interior Ministry had already been established under the federation’s umbrella in January of this year, although this union is not open to policemen or officers.

Some 700 Cairo-based policemen have sought to establish a union through the federation, though it seems the majority of policemen and officers have preferred to establish their unions via the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, Araby said.

Shendy said more than 250,000 policemen around the country are interested in establishing unions in their governorates.

“Given that we are state employees, we want ETUF membership because it is more closely associated with the state,” he said.

In Qalyubiya, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions helped policemen establish an independent union, which is pending recognition from the Manpower and Interior ministries but is, in effect, functioning. While that federation is taking steps, the state federation is still dragging its feet regarding the establishment of these unions.

Badran indicated that the coalitions of policemen and officers that emerged since the revolution “aim at promoting the rights of both civilians and police forces in a new Egypt that respects the rule of law.” Badran pointed out that the calls for the establishment of police unions came from these coalitions.

Major Ahmed Ragab, a former member of the Coalition of Police Officers, said there have been numerous applications to Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim calling for the establishment of unions, yet he has not yet replied to these applications.

“This is not the time for such demands. The ministry's first priority is to uphold security on Egypt’s streets, and confront lawbreakers, drug dealers and arms traders,” Ragab said.

The major indicated that unionization of police forces is in itself an illegal act.

Commenting on police unions acting as potential agents of reform within the ministry, Ragab said "there is in fact a nationwide restructuring effort on the part of the Interior Ministry. In its attempt to reach out to civil society, the ministry has established the Administration of Communications with Human Rights Centers and NGOs.”

Ragab concluded by saying “there is no need for such unions, for we already have clubs for police officers and policemen. These are sufficient to serve as venues where police forces can meet and discuss their concerns.”

According to Araby, however, “these police clubs are not like the Judges Clubs, which serve as professional associations. Police clubs are only spaces for informal social gatherings. They resemble cafeterias rather than professional associations.”

“We are still studying the means by which we can establish police unions in keeping with new laws, even if this involves drafting new legislation,” Araby added.

Late last month, Alexandria’s Coalition of Police Officers sent its paperwork and notarizations to the Manpower Ministry calling for the right to unionize. The ministry is due to accept or refuse their application within 60 days.

The coalition has suggested that it might resort to the judiciary in hopes of a ruling for unionization, but their chances appear to be slim — unless the laws are changed, or unless the police are able to exert enough pressure on these authorities to accept their unionization efforts.

Numerous countries around the world have legalized the unionization of police forces, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, UK, the US and Sweden, among many others.

*Photograph by Mohamed Maarouf

1 comment:

Amargi said...

This is a really bad idea. In a lot of places the police union is one of the most reactionary political bodies. They always defend capitalism and call for increases in state powers. They never stand in solidarity with other unions.

Finally the idea that a union would limit corruption just does not bear out. Police unions around the world have been instremental in covering up corruption.

[경찰개혁연대]

과거 남아프리카 백인정권이 흑인해방운동 탄압도구로 흑인경찰 내몰자 반발하며 남아프리카경찰노조 설립했던 것처럼... 왜 한국경찰은 그렇게 못할까요?!